The United Nations General Assembly is one of the six bodies of the United Nations. Unlike other United Nations assemblies, the United Nations General Assembly is the only body in which all member nations have equal representatives.
Responsibilities assigned to the United Nations General Assembly include oversight of the budget of the United Nations, appointing the non-permanent members of the Security Council, receiving reports from the other bodies and branches of the United Nations, and making recommendations through the passage of General Assembly Resolutions. The various assemblies have also established a wide range and broad variety of subsidiary bodies to assist and facilitate the United Nations General Assembly in the goals it has undertaken.
The first session of the United Nations General Assembly was held on January 10, 1946 in Westminster Central Hall in London, and included 51 nations’ representatives.
In order to pass a General Assembly Resolution, a two-thirds majority of the representatives present and voting must approve the Resolution. Aside from budgetary votes, these resolutions are not binding on members. Of the 192 countries that send representatives to the annual assemblies, more than two-thirds are in developing countries.
This means that, theoretically, nations which represent just eight percent of the world’s population could pass a resolution in the United Nations without the consent of the larger countries. This is due to the fact that the United Nations General Assembly adheres to a one nation, one vote principle.
